Where to? Is Michigan headed to Auburn Hills for the NCAA tournament, or will it get shipped?

Michigan will learn its NCAA tournament fate Sunday during CBS' live 6 p.m. selection show. Will the Wolverines begin their tournament journey in Auburn Hills? Or be shipped elsewhere? AP photo

CHICAGO -- Well, where to?

A month and a half ago, Michigan looked like it was on its path for a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament, and seemed to be an almost certain lock for at least starting March Madness near home in Auburn Hills.

Fast forward to present, and Michigan's 6-6 stretch over its last 12 games has destroyed any shot at a No. 1 seed, and put the Wolverines' hopes of starting the tournament close to home in at least some danger as well.

The Palace is one of eight opening-weekend pod sites for this season's tournament, and it sits roughly 55 miles from the Crisler Center in Ann Arbor.

Following Saturday's action, CBSsports.com's Jerry Palm wrote that Michigan was still safe in its bid to open the NCAA tournament in Auburn Hills, putting the Wolverines (26-7) as a No. 3 seed in the East Regional, beginning with games at The Palace.

Before the day started, though, it appeared Michigan was still in danger of losing the coveted spot in Auburn Hills -- as ESPN's Joe Lunardi projected the Wolverines as a No. 4 seed, with their journey beginning in Salt Lake City.

Lunardi opted to put Syracuse higher than Michigan on his S-curve, putting the Orange in Auburn Hills -- which would be their closest pod, geographically.

Syracuse may have done Michigan a favor, though, by losing to Louisville in the Big East championship game Saturday night.

The NCAA's pod system is used as an attempt to "regionalize" the top 16 seeds in the tournament, meaning everyone earning a No. 1 through a No. 4 earns a spot as close to home as possible.

However, the further down the committee gets, the more crowded the regional sites get -- and the lower ranking you have along the committee's S-curve, the more of a chance you have to get shipped out of a comfortable region.

At this point, it looks like Michigan will draw either a No. 3 or No. 4 seed from the committee, meaning they'll rank anywhere from No. 9-16 on the 1-68 rank.

If the Wolverines stay on the No. 3 line, it seems they'll be beginning their NCAA tournament march in Auburn Hills.

If they dip to a No. 4, all bets could be off.

Last season, the Wolverines were given a No. 4 seed and were matched up against No. 13 Ohio in Nashville, Tenn. Ohio upset Michigan in the tournament's opening weekend.

All the speculation will end at 6 p.m., when the NCAA tournament selection show airs live on CBS.